When my youth leader invited me on a trip to Taizé, I had never heard of the place. But, it was France. It would be my first time abroad, and I was excited, thinking I would see the Eiffel Tower.
The one dampener was that we were going by coach and ferry (for £35, an amazing price even then!), but the unfortunate Zeebrugge ferry disaster had taken place months earlier, causing ferry travel to experience heightened public scrutiny. But I and other young people went with the youth leader, other church leaders from the area, and some of their young people.
Arriving at Taizé, the conditions were surprising. We slept in bunk beds in dormitories, used squat toilets, and the long queues at mealtimes seemed to me what I imagined a prison camp to be like. It was a far cry from what I expected. Oh, and there was no Eiffel Tower!
